Brown planthopper

Gene

Planthopper

Cell biology

Biology

Computer science

Botany

Genetics

Salicylic acid

Cloning (programming)

Programming language

Jasmonic acid

Hemiptera

Nature Genetics

The brown planthopper (BPH) and white-backed planthopper (WBPH) are the most destructive insect pests of rice, and they pose serious threats to rice production throughout Asia. Thus, there are urgent needs to identify resistance-conferring genes and to breed planthopper-resistant rice varieties. Here we report the map-based cloning and functional analysis of Bph6, a gene that confers resistance to planthoppers in rice. Bph6 encodes a previously uncharacterized protein that localizes to exocysts and interacts with the exocyst subunit&nbsp;OsEXO70E1. Bph6 expression increases exocytosis and participates in cell wall maintenance and reinforcement. A coordinated cytokinin, salicylic acid and jasmonic acid signaling pathway is activated in Bph6-carrying plants, which display broad resistance to all tested BPH biotypes and to WBPH without sacrificing yield, as these plants were found to maintain a high level of performance in a field that was heavily infested with BPH. Our results suggest that a superior resistance gene that evolved long ago in a region where planthoppers are found year round could be very valuable for controlling agricultural insect pests. The study reports map-based cloning and functional analysis of Bph6, which is associated with resistance to planthoppers in rice. BPH6 localizes to the exocyst and interacts with OsEXO70E1, and suppression of OsExo70E1 expression decreases resistance in Bph6-NIL plants.

Bph6 encodes an exocyst-localized protein and confers broad resistance to planthoppers in rice